It's World Smile Day, and Operation Smile South Africa (Ossa) is celebrating performing over 100 free cleft lip/palate surgeries for people across Southern Africa in 2019.
With a team of 120 medical volunteers in South Africa, and 350 non-medical trainees and healthcare workers, Ossa would have completed three missions this year in Mozambique and Witbank.
The global non-profit organisation provides free cleft lip and cleft palate reconstructive surgery in as little as 45 minutes.
They aim to reach as many people as possible who are suffering with the condition to give them hope of a better life, and according to Lauren Bright, Ossa Country Manager, gaining access to those in real need can be challenging.
“Lack of awareness around surgery options, financial concerns and facing stigma in communities are still big obstacles for those who need cleft palate care,” she says.
The Ossa team gathered at Kleinbaai beach in Bloubergstrand this week with sand sculptor Michael Myekwa to construct a 2m x 2m sand smiley.
They were joined by celebs Katlego Maboe and Jarrad Ricketts.
Katlego says: “Putting a smile on someone’s face can be a simple thing to do, but it can also have the greatest impact.”
Cleft lip and cleft palate are the third most common birth defects worldwide and affects one in 1000 babies in Africa.
Those with the condition suffer with hearing loss, have difficulty breathing, speaking, eating and drinking; subsequently suffering from malnutrition and psychological problems.
“The condition is often rejected in some communities and can raise superstition.
“On our recent trip to Nampula, the mother of a patient revealed that her family members wanted to bury her child alive as she was considered bad luck,” says Bright.